Summary
According to recycling charity Wrap, an estimated three billion nappies are thrown away every year in the UK. Concerns over plastic waste and a want to save money have been driving a rise in the popularity of reusable nappies but, as listener Amy asks, are they really better for the planet, and your pocket?
Me and the team speak to Wendy Richards, also known as The Nappy Lady. She runs one of the biggest nappy advice and sales websites specialising in reusables. Crunching the numbers with her we look at the complete financial costs of both reusable and disposable nappies, even taking into consideration the extra washing costs needed to clean reusables.
But what about the environmental impacts of reusable nappies. Are they really better than disposables when you factor in the energy and water used to clean them? That's what we ask Professor Rob Holdway from Brunel University and Giraffe Innovation. Giraffe Innovation recently completed a thorough study - commissioned by DEFRA, the government’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs - looking at exactly this.
Once again this series we’re testing and investigating your suggested wonder-products, so if you’ve seen an ad, trend or fad, and wonder if there’s any evidence to back up a claim, drop us an email to sliced.bread@bbc.co.uk or you can send us a voice note to our WhatsApp number: 07543 306807.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Hello, podcast fan. |
| 0:03.0 | Consider this your invite to the UK's biggest podcasting party. |
| 0:06.7 | We're heading to Sheffield from the 4th to the 6th of July |
| 0:09.0 | for the BBC Sounds Fringe at the Crossed Wires Festival. |
| 0:12.8 | We'll be joined by some of the biggest names in podcasting, |
| 0:15.3 | including Sarah Cox, Charlie Hedges, Russell Kane, |
| 0:18.4 | and some bloke called Greg James doing his radio four show called Rewinder. |
| 0:23.2 | You can watch live shows of your favourite podcasts, and the best part is free. |
| 0:28.0 | To book your free tickets, go to crossedwires.orgive, forward slash fringe. |
| 0:34.4 | BBC Sounds, music, radio podcasts. |
| 0:38.5 | Okay, I'm not going to explain now, but just hear me out. |
| 0:42.7 | Listen to this. |
| 0:43.7 | Strap it. |
| 0:44.6 | This is BBC Radio 4. |
| 0:46.9 | I remember hearing this and I was like, hold on for dear life. |
| 0:50.4 | UK Station of the Year. |
| 0:52.8 | I'm coming out. |
| 0:54.6 | We're going to interrupt you because Chris Mason has news. |
| 0:58.2 | The Prime Minister has agreed to stand down. |
| 1:00.9 | A year to remember. |
| 1:02.5 | What hell just happened? |
| 1:04.2 | With powerful documentaries. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.

